


The Beginning of The End

by Anonymous_Vermin_Invader



Category: Owlboy (Video Game)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Happy Ending, Post-Game, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-17
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-05-08 08:22:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14690196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonymous_Vermin_Invader/pseuds/Anonymous_Vermin_Invader
Summary: After the events of the game: Otus fell, his friends caught him, and he found something he'd been missing his whole life.





	1. Laughter

Free falling. The all encompassing roar of wind rushing past him at frightening speeds was all the young owl boy could comprehend in his limbo between life and death. All around him, the floating landmasses were plummeting earthwards, the largest continents having already touched down, sending out massive tsunamis in their wake.

Otus cracked his eyes open, seeing all that was happening around him as he fell. It was quite beautiful, he distantly mused, the darkness once again creeping at the corners of his vision as unconsciousness took him once more.

——

“We have to find Otus!” Geddy exclaimed.

“I know, Master Geddy, but he could be anywhere.” Alphonse said from where he was at the ship’s wheel. “Do you see anything, Twig?” 

Twig was up in the crow’s nest, squinting at the horizon with one claw up to shield his eyes from the harsh light of the sun. “Nope! Not a single feather! Just blue skies and—wait! —No, never mind, that was just a bird.”

Geddy groaned in frustration as he paced anxiously along the Dreadnought’s deck. The gang and Solus had commandeered Captain Molstrom’s ship when the Anti-Hex had fired off, and now they were desperately scouring the skies and seas for their fallen comrade, who had been blasted off in the opposite direction and separated from them.

Their chances of finding the owl boy were growing slimmer as the minutes ticked by, but they had to keep searching. 

Solus had already lost hope, having not spoken since the activation of the Anti-hex, and was currently slumped just inside with his back pressed against the wall, looking dead to the world. He knew that all of this was his fault, if he had just trusted in his friend, then Otus would still be here and not lost somewhere in the wake of this world altering event.

The weight of guilt bearing down on his shoulders was suffocating. Why did Otus have to pay for his mistakes, it should have been him who payed the price, not someone as brave and courageous as Otus. 

“I see something!” The reedy voice of Twig called, and everyone looked up to see the Spider disguised Stick bug pointing towards a speck of light descending from the heavens.

Alphonse wasted no time in changing course, spinning the huge bulk of the Dreadnought around and heading straight for the rapidly fading light.

 

——

 

“OTUS!”

“Master Otus, can you hear me!?”

….

“Otus, please w-wake up!”

“It’s going to be alright. Everything’s gonna be alright, buddy.”

….

“Otus, you foolish boy…please come back to us.”

——

Otus awoke to the sound of a kettle boiling downstairs, his eyes fluttering open as he groggily berated himself for leaving the stove on. 

He sat up in bed, and everything that had happened came rushing back to him like a ton of bricks. The Pirates; the Loop; the Hex; Solus and the Relics; the end of the world… all of it. 

Otus lurched, rolling off the bed and falling to the floor with a thump, he struggled to rise but dizziness and nausea overcame him and he slumped back onto the floor with a pained wheeze.

He was dimly aware of the sound of footsteps rapidly ascending the stairs followed by a shocked gasp from a familiar voice.

“Otus!”

He felt a pair of hands clasp onto his shoulders and quickly help lift him off the floor and into a sitting position, and Otus found himself gazing up at the the concerned face of Mandolyn.

“Goodness, Otus, are you alright? You haven’t hurt anything have you?” 

Otus looked around for a moment and realized that he wasn’t in his room, and that he was in fact in Mandolyn’s house similar to when he had fallen from the catastrophe at Advent. 

He also realized that half of his vision was dark, and gingerly reached up a bare hand to his face. He felt the presence of gauze bandages wrapping around half of his head, and winced.

Mandolyn gently grasped his hand in hers. “Best not to mess with that. You’ve had a really rough time of it, Otus. Though I’m glad to see that you’re finally awake, you’ve been…unconscious for several months.”

Otus’ eye widened in shock. Months? He’d been out for months?

Mandolyn seemed to read his thoughts through his baffled expression. “Yes, Otus. After the continents fell back onto the ocean, things were crazy. Everyone was panicking and then a big pirate ship arrived.” —She helped him get situated back on the bed where he could be comfortable as she recounted what had happened— “Apparently, your friends had highjacked the Captain’s ship after Molstrom was destroyed, according to Geddy if I recall correctly. Luckily, they were all able to catch you before you hit the water—“

There was a knock at the door, and both Mandolyn and Otus perked up as a moment later the door opened revealing someone Otus was ecstatic to see.

“Hey, Mandolyn! I brought the fruits you wanted me to—“ Geddy stopped as he spotted the two upstairs, his eyes instantly honing in on Otus as he dropped the fruit he was carrying. “OTUS! OH MY GOD!”

Otus winced at the volume of Geddy’s shout, but was smiling to much to care as his best friend ran up the stairs and hugged him. “You’re awake! What took you so long, buddy?! I thought you’d never wake up! Don’t ever scare me like that again!!!”

“Master Geddy did I hear you correctly?” Alphonse poked his head through the door. “Is Master Otus truly—“ 

“MOVE OVER, AL!” Twig shoved past the ex-pirate and sprang to the second floor in a single bound, joining in the hug pile with all four arms. “HAHAHA!!! I knew you’d wake up! I DIDN’T CRY AT ALL!” 

Geddy squinted at Twig incredulously. “Dude, you cried more than anyone. I swear the ocean gained an inch of water with how much you totally cried.”

“Did not!” 

“Well, I certainly did not cry, for I as an automation am incapable of shedding tears.” Alphonse added as he stepped up to the bed and encased all three of them in a bear hug. “Though I will admit, I was weeping most profusely on the inside.”

The three of them laughed, though Geddy and Mandolyn were the only ones who seemed to notice that Otus’ laughter was different, the two of them exchanging puzzled looks. Geddy had known Otus the longest, but he could only shake his head in wonderment. 

Otus had of course laughed plenty of times in the past, but they had always been the silent, breathy laughs of a mute. 

This laughter rang as clear as a bell, with a voice behind it that was both completely alien yet utterly familiar at the same time.

Geddy wondered…but decided that there would be time to worry about it later, and merely hugged Otus tighter as their friends laughed and cried together.

Things were going to be okay.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a little short. It's likely that they'll gradually get longer as time goes on.

Adapting to life on the surface was as difficult as one might expect for the inhabitants who’d spent most if not all their lives living in the sky, some had more difficulty than others. 

As soon as things settled down after making contact with the surface, many of the residences had flocked towards the beaches where they could marvel at the ocean tides, but with the ocean so near brought other problems to the populace that they hadn't had to deal with for centuries.

Drowning, for instance, was becoming a serious concern after the Owls had to assist in saving several people who’d been swept out to sea by accident. Hardly anyone knew how to swim, as there had been very few large bodies of water around when the continents were in the sky, and falling to ones’ death was of higher concern than drowning. 

So it was decided that no one was allowed to go near the beaches without at least one Owl present, for everyone’s safety.  
Otus’ recovery had been progressing fairly quickly after waking up from his coma, and he received many visits and presents from the townsfolk of Vellie, plenty of them came to personally congratulate and praise him for his part in saving the world, which Otus later learned that he had his companions to thank for the spread of their unstoppable team’s great heroics. 

Solus had come by not long after Otus had first woken up, and had sobbed uncontrollably at his bedside, blubbering apologies and other intelligible groveling as Otus tried to assure him that all was forgiven and that there was no need to apologize. 

Once Solus had calmed down enough to properly speak, he had informed Otus of what had went on during the months that he was unconscious for, with the help of Geddy and the others who would occasionally pipe up to add their own accounts.

Apparently, after having returned to Vellie and explaining to Asio, Strix and the Professor on the events that had taken place on the Floating Tower, Solus had been promptly expelled from Strix’s teachings and was put under constant surveillance as well as restricted to his house for several weeks due to his schemes with the Pirates, as well as his involvement with the destruction of Advent.

Geddy, Alphonse, and Twig had done their best to try and vouch for Solus’ innocence, reasoning that Solus had only been doing what he thought was right and had played a major part in saving the world; Alphonse even went so far as to state that if Solus’ involvement with the Pirates put the owl boy behind bars, then he himself should be punished for having _been_ a Pirate.

In the end, Solus was given a light sentence of community service and had his access to ancient Owl tomes and scrolls at the library revoked, and he was no longer allowed to leave the village without an escort. Solus had accepted his punishment without complaint.

It was a few days later after Otus woke up that Asio finally came to visit, having been busy with helping to organize scouting missions to the other Isles as well as making sure Vellie remained safe.

Otus had been reading a book when he heard the door open, and saw his mentor ascend the stairs with his hands clasped behind his back and expression somber. 

Otus quickly shut the book, its contents forgotten as he sat up in bed, but Asio waved a hand to stall the boy from attempting to get up. Otus paused, but remained sitting straight and alert, staring up at Asio.

“It is good to see you awake, Otus. You had caused quite the uproar with that heroic scheme you pulled up above the Mesosphere.” Asio remarked casually.

Otus winced, fully expecting Asio’s disapproval and already feeling guilty for all the trouble he probably caused, despite the fact that he had helped saved the world.

However, Asio did not berate him. He simply sighed and patted him on the shoulder. “I’m glad that you are alright, Otus. I don’t know what I would have done if you…did not…” He trailed off, as if unable to finish the sentence. Then he sucked in a breathe and his next words were spoken with firm resolve. “I am proud of you, Otus. You–– despite having been through failure after absolute failure–– have gone above and beyond my expectations. Well done.”  
Otus already had tears streaming down his face before Asio had even finished speaking, causing his old mentor to frown down at him.

“Otus…stop crying. An Owl does not cry when his superior praises him!”

Otus quickly wiped away his tears with a final sniff, his one visible eye was still red and puffy around the edges, but he was utterly beaming with enough warmth to melt the ice of Mesos. 

Asio had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at the sight of his student grinning like an idiot as the corner of his mouth threatened to twitch upwards in the barest hint of a smirk. Obviously Otus’ childish joy was contagious and had nothing to do with Asio’s own sense of mirth, for he felt no such thing, he was a stern picturesque figure from a line of noble Owls for crying out loud. 

Asio cleared his throat as he crossed his arms, serious attitude coming back within an eye blink. “Now, mind you, just because you helped save the world– that does not excuse you from your studies! You have a lot to catch up on, Otus. So I’ll be expecting you to be ready to hop to it as soon as you have fully recovered.”

Otus nodded, looking a little uneasy at the prospect of returning to his studies under Asio’s teaching. It felt like a lifetime ago since his last lesson with his mentor. So many things had happened in that span of time, lots of which involved things that were dangerous and life threatening, Otus had nearly forgotten that he was still a student. He still had much to learn despite everything he felt he _had_ learned.

“Good,” Asio turned and began making his leave. “I must be off now. There is still much work to be done in Vellie. Rest well, Otus.”

And as the door shut, signaling Asio’s exit, Otus found himself alone once more.


End file.
